Just Keep Swimming.

Went through and switched all of my autopay bills to the joint account, and paid off the last $200 of my PNC credit card. So now all I have to do is withdraw all of the money from my checking and savings accounts and put them in my business account for taxes. Then I can close those. Still haven't decided if I'm going to close my PNC CC or just put it in a box and keep it just in case of emergencies. It's my longest standing CC to date, and it'll keep my credit score a bit higher theoretically just having a higher credit allowance overall. For now, it goes in the box. But I do still need to call and close that silly Toyota credit card that I never wanted in the first place.

I'll be saving approx. $40/month now that I've switched over to a 0% interest rate, and I added 11 months worth of savings to my spreadsheet where I'm keeping track of these things.

***

Also went grocery shopping today - and sad to report that it put me over my $200 limit. I could have waited until Monday to buy a lot of the items I got, but rather than making two trips, I figured it made more sense to just buy everything for next week this week. So honestly, I think I'm just going to start this trip for February's budget and just not going again until the week after (which is entirely do-able). So I retract my previous statement. I did make it under $200 for January

Spent $34.78 at Aldi - and stuck to my grocery list. My second stop was at Target, where I spent $40.76. But that included some considerable savings. We weren't really in need of cat food or litter yet, but they were having a great deal on our brands, which included sales prices, a $5 gift card for purchasing, two coupons I printed, Cartwheel coupons, and my 5% off for using my Target RED Debit Card. So I essentially spent $17.67 on a huge bag of food and a 35lb. container of cat litter. We'll be stocked for a long while, and in total it was way cheaper than I had priced it via Prime Pantry. So I count it a win! Everything else I purchased was on my list and I had coupons for as well. We shouldn't have to buy personal care products for quite some time either.

On the menu for this weekend/next week:

- Thai Chicken Stir-fry
- Pork Chops w/ Roasted Carrots and Cabbage
- Mexican Pizza
- Baked Chicken Drumsticks w/ Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- BBQ Chicken w/ Cheddar Pancakes

After about 2 hours in the car this morning, I finally made it home. Staying at mom's wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, but I'm happy to be back with my kitties - and excited to see DH when he gets home from work. Sleeping in my own bed is going to be glorious.

Didn't end up doing laser tag yesterday - as it's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Instead, went back to the house with my sister, played a board game, and then went out to dinner at Bob Evan's. She seemed in much better spirits, so hopefully my time there was able to cheer her up a bit. Either way, this conversation with mom is going to be a rough one when she gets home. Not sure exactly when it's going to happen - but it'll have to be within the next few weeks. Preferably sooner than later, her birthday is just in a couple of weeks and I know she's stressed about turning 50. But I'm not sure there will ever be a "good" time to have that conversation. Sigh.

***

Sales tax payment went through today, so that's been taken care of. Also saw that my local Q4 taxes hit my account. So much money out for taxes, and I've still got so much more to go... sigh.

My American Eagle gift cards finally hit from Swagbucks... so I went to purchase the swimsuit I had planned (my reward for hitting my Dietbet goal) and of course they sold out of my size. That's the second suit I found that I loved and sold out a few days after I decided on it. It's been a frustrating experience. I found 2 other tops that I liked, and decided to order both for now in case I didn't end up liking one and the other was sold out (as it will most definitely be, given the trend). So once they arrive I'll decide between them and return the other.

Speaking of my Dietbet, my first game finalized, and I won a profit of $9.63 - not a ton, but I also got my money back. So that's good. And, you know, lost weight Second game finishes in a couple of days.

That's about it for news. Hope you are all having a lovely week!

After about 2 hours in the car this morning, I finally made it home. Staying at mom's wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, but I'm happy to be back with my kitties - and excited to see DH when he gets home from work. Sleeping in my own bed is going to be glorious.

Didn't end up doing laser tag yesterday - as it's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Instead, went back to the house with my sister, played a board game, and then went out to dinner at Bob Evan's. She seemed in much better spirits, so hopefully my time there was able to cheer her up a bit. Either way, this conversation with mom is going to be a rough one when she gets home. Not sure exactly when it's going to happen - but it'll have to be within the next few weeks. Preferably sooner than later, her birthday is just in a couple of weeks and I know she's stressed about turning 50. But I'm not sure there will ever be a "good" time to have that conversation. Sigh.

***

Sales tax payment went through today, so that's been taken care of. Also saw that my local Q4 taxes hit my account. So much money out for taxes, and I've still got so much more to go... sigh.

My American Eagle gift cards finally hit from Swagbucks... so I went to purchase the swimsuit I had planned (my reward for hitting my Dietbet goal) and of course they sold out of my size. That's the second suit I found that I loved and sold out a few days after I decided on it. It's been a frustrating experience. I found 2 other tops that I liked, and decided to order both for now in case I didn't end up liking one and the other was sold out (as it will most definitely be, given the trend). So once they arrive I'll decide between them and return the other.

Speaking of my Dietbet, my first game finalized, and I won a profit of $9.63 - not a ton, but I also got my money back. So that's good. And, you know, lost weight Second game finishes in a couple of days.

That's about it for news. Hope you are all having a lovely week!

It's been a little while since my last entry - as it was a busy weekend, and then I went to mom's Sunday night to supervise and taxi my sister around for a few days. I'm happy to report that is going better than expected, though she really does live in the middle of nowhere now. The drive during the day is bearable, after dark it's pretty rough.

Spent a bit more over the weekend than planned, but not by a ton. Just more drinks and eating at restaurants than I wanted. Stopped to get my faaaavorite burgers in the whole world on the way back into town. But I did cook dinner Sunday night.

Yesterday spent nothing. Dropped sister off, went back to the house, worked and watched movies, worked out, then picked her up. Ate all meals at the house.

Today, though, she's only on campus for 4 hours so I decided to stay around that area while she's in class to avoid driving back and forth so much. So I'm posted up at Panera for a while. Spent $9.58 on lunch, which was delicious.

When I pick her up from class I'm taking her to Lasertag. Mom left me $20 for gas money, and I think it would be better spent on my sister. She's having a really hard time with the transition and I think she could use a little fun in her life right now. She's got a slight disability - not low functioning special needs, but developmentally she's quite behind. She's 21, and it's pretty evident that my mom hasn't taken the steps to make sure she's self sufficient. Girl doesn't have a driver's license, hasn't worked a day in her life, and the possibility of her moving out is a distant possibility at this point. But now she lives 30 mins from civilization (even further from any of her friends), has very limited internet, and no way to get around. My first night with her she was in tears almost the whole time. Apparently my mom drives her just as crazy as she drives me, but she's quite literally stranded with her. I'd be in tears, too...

***

In some good news, I weighed in for one of my Dietbet games today and I made my goal! The second ends in a few days, and I should still be maintaining at that point, so I'll be getting my money back and hopefully a nice little profit as well

Also booked our Mexico trip on Sunday!!! That was planned, and came out of the joint account. I felt guilty booking it now that things are so up in the air with DH going back to school and us trying to save money, but we've had that plan for a while and it was incredibly cheap - less than $600/person including flights for 4 nights. And I'm only going to turn 30 once.

A little victory as well - stopped in Marshall's before heading into Panera, to pass a bit of time. No interest in buying anything. I suppose that's a good sign!

At any rate, time to get back to work. Hope you are all having a lovely week!

I feel like such a nerd getting excited, but my balance transfer finally posted in my account, and not a day too soon (given that email yesterday about the interest rate increasing). It's so fun to see that number so low now - there's $200 left, because the new card has a lower credit limit. But the plan is to pay that off and then that card will be closed eventually. Or set in a drawer for emergencies for the time being. Either way, the thought of saving roughly $35/month (or more, with that rate increase) is really exciting. And that money will sit there until after I pay off the other CC with roughly the same amount. After I get this tax mess in order.

***

Went to dinner last night. It was really nice to spend time with my friends - it's been a while since just the three of us hung out. The restaurant, though... sheesh. New Indian place that just opened up, and maybe it's just the growing pains, but I had probably the worst service experience of my life. The food was okay. I went with the Tandoori chicken to keep it healthy - hadn't eaten any dinner at that point. Stuck with water. The total was about $15 after tip. Will not be returning there any time soon.

***

Today I need to get gas (for the first time this month!). Driving down about 45 min away with a friend for his holiday party, then we're going out. Staying at his friend's down there. Which is convenient, but I wont be sleeping in my own bed for another 4 days. Which is stressful. Nonetheless, the party should be good - we get 2 free drink tickets. Afterwards I'm only planning on having 1-2 drinks. Wont have to drive at that point, but I just haven't really been interested in drinking a lot. Don't want to add the calories or spend the money, really.

Tomorrow I guess we're going to brunch as well? I was asked last night which place I wanted to go to. This is why I like driving separate... sigh. These meals out are really adding up... I might try and convince him to forego that, particularly because I'm probably going to get lunch out at least one day next week. I'm going to stick (relatively) around my sister's campus so I don't have to do the back and forth so many times.

I think that's about it for me today. Let's hope the next few days go smoothly. Everyone have a great weekend!

It's been one of those weeks. Nothing horrible or tragic has happened, and I still have much to be thankful for. But it seems like almost every aspect of my life is in conflict or flux. Things with DH have been tense since we started talking about him going back to school - mostly communication problems. We seem to have worked through them for the most part, but I was in an awful funk most of yesterday after our 3rd tear-filled discussion on the subject the night before. There's just a lot to be worked out, and I think the uncertainty makes me anxious, and then he's been getting on the defensive when I bring up those concerns. We've addressed that. And I think we're finally at a point where we feel like we're playing for the same team. But it didn't come until after a bit of a breakdown yesterday.

That, however, stemmed from my mother - the usual point of stress in my life. My relationship with mom consists of 2 things: her talking (mostly complaining) and then her asking me for things - either directly, or more frequently "woe is me-ing" until I offer to fix it. I hate to sound so callous when it comes to talking about her. But it's an awful, one-sided relationship that she's never addressed (why would she?) and I haven't either. Mostly because I'm terrified of hurting her feelings.

To avoid the risk of rambling and sounding like a spoiled brat, I wont go into the specifics - but at her passive-agressive non-request, I'm driving 1.5 hours away next week and staying over at my mom's (new, way out in the boonies) house for 3 nights so I can cart my sister to and from class (40 min away!) while she's on vacation in Mexico. She called last night to ask for a few more things, and that's when the breakdown happened.

I've been trying hard to practice empathy with her, and see things from her side - but it may be time to have a serious chat with her. All I can think is thank goodness I'm moving. It feels sad to want to get far away from my mom. I truly want a healthy, enjoyable relationship with her. It's just been challenging to say the least.

So on top of tension with the husband and the family, my business plans have been up in the air (given DH's desire to go back to school), and taxes are stressing me out. At least my weight loss is still going well. And yesterday the kitties were extra snuggly.

All that complaining now finished... I really do need to pull myself together. The show must go on.

***

Dropped my local tax payment for 2015Q4 in the mail. Sent off my sales figures to the accountant for the second half of 2015 to get my sales tax filed and paid.

My Swagbucks from our honeymoon purchase credited to my account yesterday, so I bought two $25 gift cards to American Eagle to purchase the new swimsuit I picked as my reward for losing the weight. The rest will be stored until we need it - or I'll just buy Target or Amazon Giftcards to use toward groceries.

On my Chase Slate card it says that the balance transfer has been complete, but it's not showing in either account yet. So more waiting there. Just got an email saying that my interest rate just went up to 19.24%, so hopefully that'll go through before I get charged again.

Still under budget about everywhere - including gas. Actually, I haven't spent a single dollar on gas this entire month. I guess that's good given I'll have to fill up probably a couple of times with this whole taxiing my sister around nonsense.

Tonight I'm supposed to go to dinner with a couple of friends. I reluctantly agreed. We have so much food at home. We just haven't gotten together in so long. It's looking like I would spend $12 + tip. Not horrible, but also not money I really want to spend. Maybe I'll just eat a light dinner at home and get soup or something. We aren't going until 8pm, so that's probably not a bad idea.

Saturday night I'm going to a work holiday party with a friend, and then we're going out in my hometown - something I haven't done in years, and will be interesting to say the least. I won't be drinking too heavily, so I'm expecting not to spend more than $20, and hopefully half that.

Today I need to finish up editing a set I shot last week, and do some administrative work. I also might stop by the store either today or tomorrow. I'm almost out of coffee, and Giant Eagle is running a couple of really great sales that I'd like to take advantage of (including a couple of things that are straight up free if you're part of their program).

On track for only spending $200 on groceries this month. I'll take the victories where I can!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Spent some time yesterday actually charting out the budgets on the new (joint) Mint account. My plan is to be paying everything out of it by next month. DH and I had sat down a few months ago to talk over expenses and what we estimate we spend. He doesn't do any sort of budgeting, so it's going to be a learning experience finding out how much we actually spend between us.

I got a little more granular than I did with my own categories - mostly because I think it'll be useful at the end of the year to see where we're spending, and where we can cut down. My husband is a numbers guy. So even though I'm sure he wont be checking in on the account much, it'll be better for me to illustrate things later on. Not that I want to preemptively win arguments, but I really don't think he knows just how much he spends, and when we have to cut back drastically (for instance, if/when he goes back to school), it'll be easier to find where we can reduce.

***

Got a couple of checks in the mail that have been long overdue. So that's nice. Pretty much all of that income will be put toward tax savings. I also need to calculate out my income for the second half of 2015 so I can send it to my accountant and get my sales tax paid. That will be a project for today.

***

Today I'll probably swing by a mailbox and drop my Q4 local tax payment in the mail. Hooray for taxes... :/

***

Yesterday was a no-spend day. Not a very productive one, but I didn't leave the house until the evening - to go to a friend's for dinner. So free dinner as well. Tonight we'll cook. Thinking I'll make my Italian chicken again. DH really enjoyed that, and I'm making zoodles to go with it (zuchinni noodles) to make it a bit healthier. I need something a bit lighter after the *delicious* meal of enchiladas and black bean soup I had last night.

Speaking of healthy, as of yesterday I hit my goal weight for my Dietbet! Now all I have to do is maintain or lose more for the rest of the month and I'll for sure get my money back (and then some)! Feels really great

***

That's it for me! I hope you all have a lovely day!

Well, relatively spendy, anyway. We were out and about quite a bit. Dinner out Friday night (DH paid), Saturday we hit the store and bought snacks on our way out of town (DH paid again), then had dinner out that night as well (again, DH paid).

So yesterday when we got breakfast out, I footed the bill. About $20. Needless to say, I'm happy that we'll be eating at home the rest of the week. My stomach will be grateful. And even though DH paid, I'd like to be spending less together as well.

He's going to be switching his direct deposit over to the joint account today, so that will be good. I'm still waiting for the balance transfer to go through on my CC. It was supposed to hit today, but with the bank holiday I'm assuming it will be tomorrow? Hoping, anyway. Then my savings will be transferred to my Ally account for tax savings.

My non-essential spending didn't work out so well this week. I've been using swagbucks and ebates a lot lately, and I see deals and think it makes sense to take advantage of them. Nothing too crazy - but I purchased a $25 Sephora gift card to get the extra points. I'm going to have to buy new mascara here soon, and that's where I get it. Specific kind, the kind I like and feel good splurging on. Then in order to get my $10 Target gift card and the 4% cash back at Ebates, I spent $27 on a pair of leggings on sale at Athleta (the heavier performance ones for working out). The ones I wear the most are starting to rip at the crotch. lol. I reeeeally like the ones I picked out, and I generally buy them at around the same pricepoint at Marshall's or TJMaxx.

So that goal is a bust, but at least I'm taking the time to think through my purchases and not impulse shopping. Both of those would have been purchases I would make this year. And I'm still under budget for the month in all categories. Baby steps, I suppose.

***

Speaking of work out wear, I'm on schedule to win both of my Dietbet games next week - only a half a pound to go! That means I'm down 6.2 pounds now and I'll be getting back my $45 + winnings, if I make that goal. It feels really great

It's going to be a busy week, so I should get back to work. Hope you all enjoyed your weekends, and those of you who have the day off, enjoy that as well

I can't believe it's already Friday! What a week. Things are feeling better in terms of the uncertainty mentioned in my last post. I've been starting to think through options, and that helps. I feel less out of control in the situation.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store - spent $48.45 at Aldi and $53.81 at Target, which seems like a lot, but I got enough to pretty much cover us through the rest of the month. And I still have $25 left in my budget to still stay under $200 for the month. The Target run included purchasing 2 bottles of vitamins - which was pricey, but were needed, and also got me a $5 gift card. I also got another 5 Lean Cuisines, as they were still on sale for $2 each, and I had a coupon off of 5. It's nice to have them around just in case, and I doubt I'll find a better price. Used my coupons again, as well as Cartwheel for the first time. Still waiting for my Target RED debit card to come in the mail so I can start using that. But the Chase card came. I'm just waiting for the balance transfer to go through - which should be on the 18th.

Last night I had a meeting with someone I met photographing an event a few months back. I sent him a photo I took of him meeting the former mayor, and he promised me a drink - the first I've had since New Year's. It was nice, and it turns out he has contacts in Nashville - both in the photography and urban planning worlds (that's what my degree is in), so it's encouraging that he's offered to put me in touch. I need all the help I can get.

Because it's the 15th and photos work again, here's where I'm at:



The internet is autopay, and doesn't come out until the 20th. The credit cards I've actually paid on this month - not sure why that's not up there. And the car payment should post today (I dropped it off yesterday).

But most important observations: Only $12 in shopping! "Shopping" includes anything other than what's included in the other categories, so it's also my misc. Also $0 in gas this month. I think I only spent $40 last month, with it being so very cheap and my not leaving the house much these days. haha. It's nice to not be running all over the place. Business expense really shouldn't even be on there - I need to switch those autopay accounts to my Huntington.

Next month there wont be a finance charge category, theoretically

I'm thinking I'm going to look into consolidating my student loans - at least my private ones with Sallie Mae. My interest rates are through the roof (I'm talking like 9.5%), and it would at least be worth it to try so I can start making a bit more progress on them - or at least not losing a crapton of money every month.

So that's that. Halfway through January, and making a bit of progress! Here's to an equally (if not more) successful second half!

The last few days have been busy with work, so I haven't had much time to update - not much movement on my goals, though, either. I'm hoping that once this photo set gets done that I'll have some time to set aside and knock out much of the stuff in my sidebar list.

Not much to report in terms of financial news, except Amazon was late delivering another package, so I contacted them and they extended my Prime membership for free another month. So that was nice. Need to drop off my car payment today - just hadn't gotten around to it quite yet, but it's due tomorrow.

Feeling a little down today after a conversation with DH last night. It seems things are going to be a bit up in the air over the next couple of years. He wants to go back to school (which is good - he should), but that puts a lot of things into question in terms of what I'm going to do - particularly with my business. If we're moving (possibly twice) in the next two years, that doesn't give my business much time to get established. And definitely not enough to be able to support both of us, as well as the additional cost of having a baby in a few years. Just makes me wonder if I should start thinking about getting a "real" job now, or when he does go back to school. The original idea was to push ahead with my business so that when babies do come I have the flexibility of working less. That's probably not going to be possible if he's not pulling in more than a stipend.

Not impossible, but definitely much to think about. It's got me a little stressed to say the least. I don't deal well with uncertainty and things shaking up my plans. I want to be supportive, it's just difficult when I've got anxiety about the whole thing. Either way, I know we'll figure it out, whatever "it" is. Until then, just focusing on saving. And working through options so I feel like I have some semblance of control or direction. If we weren't planning on having kids in a few years, I wouldn't be sweating it at all - things are just so much more complicated when I throw that in. Funny how that happens.

***

In some good news, I'm doing great with the budget. I will have to go to the grocery store this weekend, but I've still only spent $52/$200 for the month, and it's almost half over. I can't believe how quickly this month is flying by!

Alright. Back to work! Hope you are all enjoying your week!

Things are still moving along. Making some changes to maximize my savings. Non-essential spending month is going okay. Did have to buy a new Brita pitcher the other day, but used a gift card we got from the wedding to purchase. Added $19.99 to my snowflakes (I'm adding them as I use them). Our previous is an off brand we've had for years, and it's still functional. DH said he wanted to get a bigger one, but I was going to hold out. Until I bought a new filter for it at Target. Turns out they've changed the size of their "universal" filters. They don't fit our generic one, and I'm not sure I'm going to find ones that do fit. So looks like DH got his way after all :/

Also decided to look into some ways to save at Target, given it's my secondary grocery store. I usually buy what I can at Aldi, then head there. I signed up for a Target RED debit Card. It basically links with your already-existing checking account, but then you get 5% off every purchase, and a few other nice little perks. Given how much money I tend to spend there, it seems like a worthwhile thing to have. I also downloaded the Target Cartwheel app to my phone, and I've started looking at their online store coupons. Printed out a handful the other day and used a couple for things that we needed already - Magic Erasers, with the discounts, were cheaper than the Target brand. Also picked up 5 lean cuisines for lunches. They were on sale for $2/each, and I had a coupon. A lunch for under $2 seems like a worthwhile investment to me, and I really do enjoy them. They also work well as "emergency" dinners if I don't feel like cooking.

Progress on the rest of my goals is fairly stagnant. I've spent $52/$200 of my grocery budget. The list of other financial stuff will likely be done in a day. I just need to get a day to power through it all.

I've still got 3 lbs more to go on my Dietbet - and 2 weeks to accomplish it. Starting to get a little nervous, but I know I can manage it if I'm diligent. I'm definitely feeling/looking better. Ordinarily I wouldn't focus on the number on the scale so much, but I have to in order to win the challenge and get my money back so...

Need to continue my video series as well. I've just been so wrapped up in this TV show I'm loving that I've been watching that on the elliptical instead. Need to get back in gear!

As for savings goals, I really need to do some collecting from clients. I've got about $3k in open invoices, and would love to have that money to put in my savings for taxes. It's been difficult to save much at all when I don't have much coming in.

In good news, though, I have a shoot today! Booked last week, with another one later in the month. So at least I'm working. Things are still managing to be busy.

At any rate, hope you all have a great day!

Alrighty. Things are going well as can be. Applied and was approved for the Chase Slate CC this morning. Hopefully the balance transfer will go through. The limit I got was lower than on my other - so I'll transfer $2k and then pay off the remaining $220 to zero out that card, then begin on the Chase Slate - which wont increase because, you know, 0% APR for 15 months! Woo!

There will be a bit of spending today. My mom gave us a really nice humidifier, and I've been meaning to get filters for it so we can start using it. This awful cold I can't seem to shake has motivated me to get it done. Spent some time researching this morning, and there don't seem to be any places nearby to pick them up, so I ordered them on Amazon - free shipping with Prime, and I used my $6.67 I've accumulated with my Amazon Points Visa and offset the cost. Three filters for $5 isn't bad! Hopefully they'll help :/ At this point, I'm calling them "essential."

And because I'm starting to track my savings and snowflakes for the year:

Switching Fit's Car Insurance - $173.58
Cancelled Click Subscription - $18.00
Cancelled ClickinMoms Subscription - $60.00
Amazon Rewards points toward humidifier filter - $6.67

Total: $258.25 for the year

Not too shabby! Once the CC balance transfer goes through, I'll calculate out the savings and add them to the list.

Tonight I'm going across town to do a (free) yoga class with my SIL. Then we're going to get a healthy dinner somewhere. Hoping to do something cheap, and very light. I had a heavy burger last night and got rather queasy. I guess all this healthy eating has been working on me!

That's about it for today. Hope you are all having a great week!

Nothing of note to report - believe I'll be opening the Chase Slate CC and transferring my balance, but that's old news. I just went over it with DH yesterday to get his feedback, and now it's a go.

Yesterday went to the grocery store for a handful of things (toilet paper, tissues, feminine stuff, olive oil, garlic, chicken). Only got a few things beyond my list - these delicious (and very healthy!) lentil chips from Aldi, a jar of marinara (I meant to put this on the list and forgot), and a tub of cottage cheese for breakfast this coming week. I struggle with what to eat for breakfast when I'm trying to lose weight. And I'm attempting to limit my carbs, so oatmeal is out. This seemed like a good way to go.

All together, I spent $26.

Made fajitas last night. Turned out pretty fantastic. Have enough leftovers for at least one meal. Tonight I'm heading to a friend's to make dinner with him. He decided to try that Blue Apron service. I personally think it's too expensive - if I'm spending $10/portion, someone else is making my food! But I'm still happy to come over and see what the fuss is all about

As for goal updates:

- Still doing good on the non-essential spending
- I thought $26 was a good grocery run. My have to stop back again later this week, but maybe not, even. We have a lot of stuff to make.
- I'm down 2 lbs. from my original starting Dietbet weight! Woo!
- Watched a Sue Bryce video yesterday - one day closer to 28!

Today will be a heavy editing day. And a light(er) work out day. My legs were so sore this morning that I'm pretty sure they were the ones that woke me up. haha. Going to focus on stretching and maybe do some arms.

Hope you all have a lovely day!

Things are looking good in that department so far. I'm sure it helps that I haven't left the house in a few days. haha. Today I will be getting out a bit - and doing some spending (obviously not on non-essentials). I have to hit the post office to get a few things out that I've been procrastinating on. It's just been so hard to motivate myself to go anywhere now that it's actually cold. haha. I also spent yesterday catching up on some editing, and that is a big priority right now.

I also need to head to the grocery store for a few key items - toilet paper and tissues, mainly. Still sick. *Really* hoping it will let up soon. It's been over a week now. When I get ill, it's difficult for me to shake. Never horribly severe, usually, just lengthy.

***

A couple of frustrating/weird things happened in the last couple of days. I had a rather unpleasant experience selling my camera on Amazon - long story short, the buyer didn't have any familiarity with my old-model camera, expected it to perform like a new one, and requested a return saying that it was damaged and/or not in the condition listed (which is not true). All of my previous selling on Amazon has gone smoothly, so I didn't have much familiarity with their returns policies. So I sent several messages back and forth after she filed an "A-to-Z Guarantee Claim." I didn't realize, while I was conversing with her about it, that I had to appeal the claim. So instead of getting the partial refund we agreed to (to cover my shipping), she received the full amount (Amazon automatically transferred the money) AND I have this nasty performance ding on my account for selling "damaged or dysfunctional equipment" (which it's not - I tested the camera after she returned it to me).

Ugh. Out $20 in shipping and still have to get rid of this stupid camera. I know there are people out there that love selling things online, but I have no patience for it. Hoping someone on Craigslist will pull through for me. May just drop the price substantially so I can be done with it.

In other news, we got our reimbursement checks from State Farm - opened new policies, and our good driving discounts don't get added until after it goes through underwriting, I guess? But then a couple days later we got an invoice. After calling our friend/insurance agent, turns out they overpaid our reimbursement and then invoiced us for the difference? lol. Good to know the method behind the madness, but it seems like a really inefficient way of doing business for them.

Either way, I'm saving about $170 this year with the switch, just for my car. I forgot to ask DH what he was paying before. Also - I'm starting to log our savings/snowflakes, partially because I'm a numbers junkie and partially because I like to have stuff to show DH when we talk finances. Maybe it will inspire him

***

Also made a decision on the CC conundrum, I think. I found another card that is 0% APR for 15 months, with no balance transfer fee OR annual fee. I'm going to transfer the balance from one CC there, close the one that I don't want/use, and then see how it affects my credit score. Then I'll make a decision on the remaining CC. I'll either close it, or just leave it in a drawer for an emergency (that's what I do with the one that I don't want/need now).

That's enough for now! Lots to do today. Hope you all have a good one!

So I'm in the process of restructuring our finances so that we can handle them together now that we're married. DH and I opened a joint checking account, which is what we'll use to pay for all of our expenses. I think we're both going to close our personal checking accounts and just each have a credit card to use when we want to purchase gifts, etc.

So I have a personal checking, savings, and credit card with my current bank. My savings account currently holds my tax savings - which I'm going to transfer to my business account (which is where it needs to be anyway) and then open a savings account for my business so I can keep things separate. Money from my checking account will be transferred to the joint account. And then I'll have my credit card.

It currently has a balance of about $2,200. I get charged roughly $35 in interest every month. In Mint today I saw a suggestion of getting an Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, which would give me 0% APR for the first 15 months. I'm thinking I might open that card and transfer my balance, to save on that interest, and then close all of my accounts with my current bank to make a clean break. I haven't really been spending with that card (it's been near its max, and I've been trying to pay it off). At that point, I would only use the Amex for business expenses (as needed), and I would pay off my Amazon Points Visa and use that one for my personal expenses (mainly just gifts for DH and anything that might pop up as an emergency).

My current CC is my longest standing, though. I'm not sure if my credit score would suffer terribly if I were to close that account. I have another CC that I need to close (that I don't ever use and didn't even want. Long story). I know closing these things will have a negative impact, but not sure for how long. Or if it even matters - DH and I have no plans of purchasing a home anytime soon, nor any vehicles. And I'm pretty sure his credit score is stellar. Kid has almost no debt (god bless full rides to college).

So for a savings about $420 this year, it seems to make sense. Because I'm saving for my tax payments, I'm not going to have the opportunity to focus on the CC for a while (beyond making my slightly above minimum payments).

Any thoughts would be appreciated Thanks, everyone!

Our NYE party was a hit - only about 10 people all together, but I still made a nice spread: hot sandwich roll, honey glazed smokies, and caprese skewers. As well as some hummus, salsa, chips, etc. DH handled the bartending for the night. We had made up homemade sour mix the day before and if how I felt yesterday was any indication of how much I enjoyed them, well...

Thankfully, we do have quite a bit of food left. A lot of lunchmeat and some ciabatta rolls, so we'll do sandwiches a couple of times this week. Tons of leftover drink fixins as well, but I think I'm going to take a break there. haha. I've been sick for the last week or so. Drinking as much as I did NYE was probably a mistake, but it's a holiday... Now I'm focused on getting better ASAP. It's starting to get rather miserable.

I don't have much to report on the financial front. Yesterday was a NSD. Today will be much of the same. I do need to go through and pay bills, but I decided that January will be a no-spend month. At least outside of the essentials. So far so good! Yesterday DH and I literally laid around all day, hungover. We watched a couple movies - Interstellar and the Lego Movie. Both were incredibly good. Then the rest of the day I finished the book I was working on, "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. Another good find. Not terribly exciting in the plot department, but a nice calming read that speaks to how peoples' attitudes change as they encounter abundance. Interesting stuff.

After finishing, I made myself some tea and started another in bed. Decided to tackle "Walden." It's one I've never read, but you hear a lot about. And I think it's perfectly tied into my theme of Making Space. I opted out of sitting on social media for hours this morning and got a good chunk of pages this morning read as well

***

I sat down and thought through some of my goals for the year, and usually I write out a list of 10-20 things I want to accomplish. And usually they sit in that list all year without much accomplishment. I decided to do things differently this time around. I'm going to set basic monthly goals, but other than that I'll just stick to making good daily decisions (a la "Making Space") and record my accomplishments as I meet them. I'd rather celebrate the things I'm proud of than be perpetually reminded of the things that have no longer become priorities.

Not to say that I don't still have goals It's just hard to tell at the beginning of the year if something like NaNoWriMo will still be a priority in November. Things change, and I like to stay flexible. So instead, I'll tuck things like that away in my mind, and re-evaluate when the time comes.

For January, my goals are:

- No spend month, outside of essentials (no clothes, home items, beauty products, entertainment, etc)
- Cut grocery budget to under $200
- Win Dietbets (lose 6.7 lbs by Jan 25)
- Finish 28 Days with Sue Bryce Program (I purchased this last year and never went through it)
- Go through pricing course with photog friend

As for overarching financial/budget goals with DH, I've decided to not even have that conversation. haha. We went over our basic goals when we had the original (stressful) conversation, so until we really know what this is going to look like, I'm holding off. Instead, my goals will be to get things actually set up! In January, I would like to:

- Set up Mint for Joint Account
- Switch DH's direct deposit to Joint Account
- Switch all autopay bills to Joint Account
- Figure out account structure and open/close necessary accounts (personal and business)
- Enter all of my backlogged income and expenses into Quickbooks so I have an accurate look at what I'll owe in taxes

So I will add these January Goals to my sidebar, and hopefully we'll see some progress!

Wishing you all a lovely New Year!

I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE New Years. Not so much for the partying (though I don't hate that part. haha). It's just exciting to take a look back, learn from my experiences, and look ahead to the possibilities of the future.

2015 was a big year. My look back:

- I shot 16 weddings this year, which is 6 more than the previous. I learned that this volume is a bit too much for me, as I got incredibly burnt out. In 2016 I'll be limiting that number to 10 and focusing my work more on portraiture.
- This is the first year that I didn't work a part time job at all, and focused my time entirely on my business. Which is a huge (and wonderful) change. I'm hoping that I can maintain that in 2016, but we shall see.
- DH turned 30. This was kind of a fun milestone, and we had a really nice celebration.
- DH and I took a trip to Cincinnati to visit with friends and a trip to Nashville to scout out neighborhoods to move to.
- I alone took a trip to Denver to see my dad and visit friends, and then a trip to Montreal and Lake Placid to shoot a wedding, just a week before...
- We got married!

Financially, I can't say I ended the year *much* better than I started it. Because I worked solely at my business and because I wasn't great about putting aside money for taxes, I'm in saving mode to make sure I can cover them without having to dip into our joint account.

We're also now in my slow season, so my income levels wont quite be as high as usual. A lot of my focus in 2016 (after hitting my tax savings goal) will be on organizing my business finances better, so I don't run into this struggle at the end of the year.

One big victory that I made this year, though, is getting into the habit of regularly posting on this blog. I can't describe how much help it is. I keep myself in check much better that way. I’ve added to my morning routine checking my bank accounts (and mint) to see where I am on the budget.

Looking ahead…

2016 will also bring with it some big items:

- In March, we are taking our 10-day honeymoon to Peru
- In April, we are moving to Nashville!
- In May, we are very possibly taking a weekend, all-inclusive trip to Mexico for my 30TH BIRTHDAY!
- DH also wants to take a trip to Denver at some point to visit my dad
- I anticipate quite a few weekend trips after we move, given that we’ll be close to a lot of new cities
- This will also be the first full year that we are married, and handling our finances together (though we still haven’t really jumped in all the way. We need to do that.)

As I mentioned in my previous post, my theme for the year is “Making Space.” I wont have concrete financial goals put together until DH and I sit down and work through them, but I think every month I’m going to have mini goals/challenges of sorts to help me save/earn more. Some examples:

- No Spend Month (outside of essentials)
- Grocery Challenges (cook all dinners under $3/meal)
- Snowflakes (more surveys, Swagbucks, etc.) and being more creative with them (using my Amazon GCs for grocery products, etc.)
- Restaurant Challenge (don’t eat at restaurants at all, only x number of times)
- Make all beauty/cleaning products myself

In January for sure I am going to attempt the no-spend month. This is the time of year that I NEED to be saving as much as possible, and honestly, I just want to learn to make do with what I have. I live in complete abundance. There’s really no reason I need more clothes, books, house stuff, beauty products, etc. The only thing I’m going to rush to pay for before midnight is the acting class that I really want to take in February. It’s only $120, and isn’t “stuff.” I’ve been trying hard to reconnect with my creativity, and DH is entirely supportive. So it’s coming out of our joint account. I’m incredibly excited!!

I was thinking of adding an unlimited Zumba package to that (I went with my SIL last night, and loved it), but for a month I can either just do them online or drive over to where my SIL lives… her classes are free ☺ That is a want, not a need. And I save $30 for the month.

So that’s the idea for January!

***

Tonight we’ll be hosting a NYE party – of like 10 people, so nothing crazy. But I am cooking, and DH is making some fancy cocktails. We spent a little more than I would have liked on stuff for the party, but I still thought it was better than going out and spending a ton on a big dinner or party, and I don’t enjoy crowds. All in all, it was still less than I thought it would be. We’ll have a really great time tonight, our last NYE in town for a while! I’m going to enjoy the not so healthy food today. After midnight, I need to focus on my dietbet and ridding myself of those 7 lbs.

Speaking of unhealthy food – I also gave up fast food in 2015! Today I’ll be heading to McDonald’s for a Big Mac and fries, and then it’s no fast food again until the end of 2016. I’ve gotta say, I’m more than a little excited for that burger.

Hope you all have a lovely NYE!!!

So yesterday I did some shopping and exchanging. My mom had bought both DH and I pairs of pajama pants from Kohl's - his were too small, and mine weren't even close to something I would wear these days (my mom's understanding of the things I like froze about 10 years ago). She didn't give us gift receipts, and I wouldn't have known where she got them had the price tag not been left on one of them. But I figured I'd stop and see. I was able to exchange his for the smaller size, and I got a $7 store credit for mine. It was busy and I didn't feel like searching for too long, so I found a pair of Lauren Conrad leggings on a rack that said $9.99. When I brought them up she said it would be $8 after the credit. ugh. Despite saying it was on a rack with other pairs, I just decided to pay the extra and get out of there. In the end, I really love them and they're super comfortable. So no big deal.

Also hit Trader Joe's for a few items. Some frozen veggie and gnocci dishes, and coffee. I decided to give the reusable k-cup thing a try and see if purchasing the delicious Ethiopian blend that I grind there will be cheaper per cup than buying the regular cups from Aldi. I know the coffee is better, and not throwing the cups away is better for the environment. If it's actually cheaper, then it'll be a no brainer. I'll be putting a tally on the can for each cup I use.

The reusable k-cup I also purchased yesterday, from Target, for $15. As well as my Moleskine notebook that I'll use as my journal for 2016. They have always and forever been my favorite. And a $5 phone case. Mine had broken.

Made chicken paprikas for dinner. Delicious, and we'll have leftovers for days. Tonight and tomorrow we'll be eating dinner with friends out of the house. I do need to hit Aldi today or tomorrow to get a few ingredients for dinners the rest of the week, as well as food to prepare for NYE. We will be hosting, and I'm really excited to have our small group over.

***

Got my new debit card in the mail for our joint account. So I can start using that. We do still need to start funneling money into it, though. DH will switch his automatic deposit and I'll have to link my business account to the new one so I can start transferring my income that way - though most of my income from now until April will go toward that tax bill, so it may be a while...

Also got a $50 check in the mail from USPS, an insurance claim payout. They had damaged a lens I sold. I'm a little surprised and impressed with how quickly they resolved that. The camera I sold is on its way back to me - the woman that purchased it (as I sort of expected) decided she didn't like it, and wanted a refund. Ugh. I agreed to refund minus the cost of the shipping I spent. But now I have to go through the process of selling it again. It looks like I have an interested buyer through Craigslist, so I might try and go that route once I get it back. Sigh.

***

In other financial-ish news, I joined a Dietbet for the next month, so I'm looking forward to (hopefully) losing some weight and if so making a little bit of money from it. Goodness knows I need *something* to motivate me. Why not extra cash?

***

Tonight is our gift exchange within our little friends group. We decided to do a Secret Santa this time around, and it should be a fun time. I'm excited to see everyone. It's always nice when we all get together. I call them my Lakewood family, because they really are like family (the way I like to think of family), and we all live in the same city. I'm not sure that will ever happen again in our lifetime, with little ones coming into the picture in 2016 and people dispersing a bit. But we really enjoy the proximity and the relationships we've built. It almost feels like the end of an era.

Hope you all are having a lovely Monday!

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone. I feel like I've been saying this for years now, but it just didn't really feel like Christmas this year. I'm thinking maybe it's just because I'm getting older. I'm hoping once we have kids that it feel magical again. But either way, it was enjoyable.

DH and I had our lovely Christmas Eve. We exchanged our gifts earlier in the day so we could play with them. I got him the Amazon Echo, and we both love it. He got me a Fitbit. I'm hoping it will help me shed some unwanted pounds and generally live a bit healthier. We exchanged a few other smaller gifts as well - but tried to keep it simple. He did include a spa package for me, which was unexpected and very nice He really is a keeper.

Christmas itself was a lot of running around. We went to my mom's in the morning for breakfast and presents. It went over fine. I have a very odd relationship with my family, and the holidays tend to be very stressful for me. But all things considered, things went well. Mom seemed to enjoy the purse I got her (which is a relief. It's always so hard to pick things like that for people, even with general guidelines). I didn't get much of a reaction out of my siblings, but that's usual.

After my mom's we went to DH's parent's for presents. I think my MIL lives for giving presents. Gift Giving is definitely her love language. I came away from it very appreciative, and also a bit guilty that we didn't get her a bit more. It's always such an awkward experience trying to figure out what is "appropriate." I think that's why my SIL made everyone agree to do no gift exchange with her. But my MIL got her a bunch of stuff anyway. I think it made her feel really uncomfortable. Not sure how that is going to be handled next year.

After his parents we go and do his extended family party. Which is always kind of a hoot. Never a boring moment with his aunts there. Very loud, boisterous ladies, supplying much fodder for his cousins, who poke and prod them all night. haha. Beyond the fun, though, it seemed like tensions ran a bit higher than normal this year. We did end up staying reeeally late, engrossed in a religious discussion with his aunt's that was a bit more than a little awkward for me, but still very interesting. Oh, family...

I think in 2016 I'm going to try and somehow improve my relationship with my family. It's the single biggest point of stress in my life, and it's saddening that I constantly dread any interaction with my mom. A lot of it I know will be on my part - working harder to practice empathy and not let the things she says/does get to me so much. But at some point I need to be a bit more honest with her about those things. I bite my tongue in fear of hurting her feelings. But the more I think about it, if I had a daughter that felt the way I do right now, I'd want her to say something. And I know my mom would love to have a closer relationship with me. Sigh.

***

Speaking of the New Year, I'm really excited for it. I love fresh starts and the energy that comes with setting goals. We have a really eventful year coming up - our honeymoon in March and moving out of state in April. Then all of the fun and challenge that comes along with acclimating and building a new life in a new place.

I generally pick one "theme" to focus on every year. 2015 was the year of mindfulness. And I think that idea helped me establish some great new habits and let go of the past, bringing my attention more to the present - and practicing gratitude for all of the wonderful things I have in my life.

For 2016, I think I've landed on the idea of "Making Space." Certainly in a physical sense - finishing my Marie Kondo journey, getting rid of more stuff and creating a home that really speaks to the person I am today. But also making space in a less tangible way - letting go of my negativity to make space for more empathy and compassion. Spending less time on social media to make space for activities that recharge me instead of distracting me (like reading or crocheting). Reducing the junk food in the house to make space for healthier, delicious options. Stop spending money on stuff I don't really need to make space for working toward my financial goals that matter. Generally making space to cook more food from scratch, spend more quality time with DH, to focus on those important projects that get caught in the whirlwind of everyday, unimportant tasks.

I constantly gripe about being busy and not having enough time, but I know that's not entirely true. My time management could be 1,000 x better than it is, and if my priorities are true priorities, the things I want to do in my life will get done. I just have to let go of the garbage time. And truly focus on enjoying every aspect of the things I choose to replace that time with.

So there you have it! We will be setting some more specific financial (and general) goals for the year, but that's the framework.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Who can resist a good xmas pun?? In fact, I had all of my gifts purchased and wrapped a couple of days ago. Grabbed a couple more last minute things for DH, mom, and my grandfather (who I kind of forgot about until then). Spent more than I would have liked to this year, but what do you do? I think maybe next year I'll have conversations with friends and family prior to the season starting - I'm sure there are others in my life who wouldn't mind spending a little less. This year I dropped about $600 all together. In my world, that's quite a chunk of change :/

***

Now that shopping has been done for a couple of days, I've been trying to wrap up all of my home projects prior to the holiday. DH is off work until after the new year, so I've been trying to take advantage. Yesterday I organized the attic. I can't believe how much room is up there now! Every time I move something out of the house I'm reminded of how much easier it's going to be to move in April... and now I have another whole carful of stuff to take to Goodwill. And a lot of stuff fits in my Honda Fit.

I've also got a few things that I need to sell - my army stuff, largely (I guess that's more than a few things. More like 4 bags worth), as well as a ring an ex boyfriend purchased for me. I think it's time to let that one go. lol. Pretty ring! I hope I can get a little bit of money out of it.

***

Yesterday DH and I finally added me to the (now) joint bank account. Now we just need to actually start using it. We paid for the new chair and the honeymoon booking out of it, and it's now only at about $2k. Not too bad given the only money we've put into it was from wedding gifts!

Now we have to start feeding money into it, and changing our bills to come out of that account. Which, I think, will be a project for the new year. At that point, I'll set up a new Mint account so we can readjust the budget to include everything.

***

Last night I went to see "Sisters" with my SIL. I feel like I've gone to the movies more in the last 2 months than I have in the last two years. lol. Our tickets were only $5.60 each, though! I forget how much cheaper it is to go during the week. Those weren't even matinee tickets... The movie, by the way, was HILARIOUS. Perfect for us two gals I'm so lucky that the two of us get along so well. I do have a (blood related) sister, but she's 8 years younger than me and incredibly socially awkward (mild special needs), so I never had the kind of relationship with her that you see in the movies. My SIL, however, is the same age and we have the same sense of humor. Over the last couple of years she's become one of my best friends. It's been something I've missed, and something I cherish greatly.

Speaking of relationships with women in the family, I just finished reading "Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan - an older read, but so very good. It's been on my shelf for a couple of years now. Just got around to it. Just a great read. Now that we've scaled back our books to one bookcase (from about 6), I'm going to attempt to read everything we own! That's a challenge that will keep me from purchasing more books for sure! Now I'm riding the Chinese theme and started "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. A couple chapters in, and so far so good!

***

The last few things to wrap up today:

- Visit the butcher to get meat for tomorrow's dinner
- Laundry
- Make trip to Goodwill
- Clean carpets (borrowing mom's upright cleaner)
- Do some editing

Christmas Eve is DH and I's day to just sit around, watch movies, relax, and make a really lovely dinner for just the two of us. We usually exchange our gifts over the course of the day. So I'm very much looking forward to that. It's nice to have some quality down time before we run all over kingdom come on Christmas day.

Probably wont update again until after the holiday, so everyone have a Christmas full of joy, love, and gratitude

So though DH and I got married in September, we still haven't gone on (or planned) our honeymoon. I think all of the planning for the wedding burnt us out, and we didn't want to deal with it. Our plan has been to go to Argentina.

Months ago, we found a Groupon deal that hit both Argentina and Brazil, but DH wanted to wait it out for a trip that hit exactly what he wanted to see (including Patagonia), and they stopped offering it after a while.

So yesterday I started poking around, and found a few vacation packages that sounded fantastic. None of them were in Argentina, unfortunately. When I looked for trips there it was either incredibly expensive, or just flights/hotels, and we didn't really want to have to plan much - so we focused on the pre-planned packages with tours and such.

It was up in the air between going to Peru or Japan, and Peru won out - they were both around $2k/person (including flights), and Peru was 2 days longer. Also, I get to cross Machu Picchu off my bucket list! I purchased the Groupon yesterday, and we'll be booking the trip first thing Monday when I can get a hold of the travel agency. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be taking our honeymoon for 10 days in March!

I'm so excited

Even better - I have the Swagbucks button on my browser, so when I went to purchase I clicked the thing to enable my Groupon purchase to add up the points and add it to my account. At 7 SB per dollar spent, I'm earning 27,986 SB. Which seems so hilarious to me for whatever reason. I'll be able to redeem that for at least two $100 gift cards. So even better!

So good news. $2k/person seems so insanely cheap to me - we paid almost that for just our flights to Europe last year. It'll end up being slightly more, because we have to get to JFK to fly out first, but still... for everything included, it seems like a fantastic way to travel.

At any rate, on my way to mom's to bake cookies! Hope you all have a great day

Thanks to everyone who posted such lovely comments on my last post. You all are always so wonderful Today is the 3 month anniversary of that beautiful day! Which means...

We've passed the midpoint of the month - and it's been a rough one over here.

In GOOD news:

- I sold another piece of equipment, and after Amazon fees, I'll be getting about $465. That will of course go straight into my tax savings.
- Worked with a friend who is an insurance agent, and restructured DH and my auto insurance (as well as my renter's policy) into one account. My policy premium dropped from almost $80 down to $55/month... which is even less than I was paying before the rate hiked for me. They also reimbursed part of the month I already paid.
- I caught up on my invoicing, and have almost $5k due right now. I'm not in a *huge* hurry to collect it all right away, mostly because if my clients drag their feet til after the new year I can consider it 2016 income, so it wont count toward taxes for this year. Which would be nice. heh.
- I went to a holiday party for a previous employer/current client. I'm designing their new website, but because of wedding season and election season (they are political consultants), things went on hold. Once the new year kicks in, that's a $6k project that will be completed.
- I've still got a considerable chunk leftover in my restaurant and fuel categories, so I guess tiny wins there?
- Pretty much completely done xmas shopping. The only thing I have left to do is design our "Family Cookbook" for our group of friends. I'll be printing them through Blurb - the high end magazines. So that'll be an additional $50 or so, but that literally wraps up all of my shopping.

In some less than good news:

- Over budget in my "Shopping/Misc" category, though, it's a late fee, a parking ticket, shipping charges for sold items, and just one purchase at Victoria's Secret. A girl needs a new bra every now and then. lol. So at least it's not rampant impulse spending...
- Not much left in the grocery category. And we've gone out to eat more than I'd like this month. Granted, DH paid for that most of the time, but I'd rather just establish the habit a bit better.
- Our internet payment hits in a couple of days and is going to be $30 more than I expected. We need to re-evaluate our plan. ugh.
- Another local tax payment due. Just paid Q3 (albeit quite late).
- We still haven't printed or mailed our xmas cards. heh. Needless to say, that has been a bit of a trainwreck, and now I just want it done. Tried to get them finished, and my design program kept crashing. Which is ominous for many reasons. But it needs done. We still haven't sent out those thank you cards from the wedding :/

***

In completely non-financial related news, the new Star Wars movie was AMAZING. We saw it last night, and it was everything I could have ever hoped for. Seriously.

***

Cancelled Hulu yesterday - the shows I follow there have all ended for the season. I brought up the idea of leap frogging services with DH. We don't have cable, but we do have Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, and Amazon Prime... and it seems silly to have them all at once when we can do one per month (with the exception of Prime - we pay for that a year at a time, so that would always be around). Seems like a fun challenge. Just need to get him onboard entirely. Would only be a savings of about $25-30 per month, but that's still $300 over the course of a year we could put toward another goal.

At any rate, I hope you all enjoy your Friday!!! The weekend is almost here!

Alright, since I don't have anything terribly exciting to update and the photos are working again, I figured I would upload some wedding photos and talk about some ways we saved some $$$ while planning this year! Also how we saved some headache on the day of.

1. We kept the guest list low.



Both DH and I are a bit lucky that we don't have huge families, and I don't really talk to most of my family - so we were able to keep it reigned in pretty easily. I know that's not the case for most people, but having a guest list under 100 people eases the budget significantly. We also found it important to only invite people that we are truly friends with. Our parents didn't invite their friends, there were no third cousins we've only met twice. We paid for it all, and we called the shots. It was really nice, though, because we were able to actually spend quality time with the people we truly care about.

2. I bought a pre-owned dress.



The dress thing was a bit of an evolution - I had planned to go very casual, and bought a dress that was very pretty, for $30 online. After a few months, I started second guessing myself and shopping around a little more. I found the dress I ended up wearing (an Adrianna Papell) on a site called Tradesy.com - and bought it for $160. I spent another $80 to have it altered last minute (I bought it about 2 weeks before the wedding! haha). But I loooooooved it. I understand that the dress is such a huge part of a girl's wedding day, but I couldn't bring myself to spend an arm and a leg for something I would only wear once in my life. There are so many great options out there, and pre-owned is a great one.

Similarly, my bridesmaids dresses came from Modcloth - and were about $40 each.



3. We had a stock the bar party.

This was a friend's idea, and was GENIUS. Instead of having a traditional bridal shower, DH and I threw a stock the bar party. We got very few traditional gifts, and instead everyone brought a bottle of liquor. We didn't have to purchase any for the wedding, and the mixer package we purchased from our bartenders was incredibly affordable. We still have so much left over, too. haha. It definitely cut out a great bit of the expense - but we also had a venue where we brought in all of the vendors.

4. We DIY-ed most of the decorations.

We rented table cloths, but everything else was brought in. I purchased bulk lace and cut the runners myself. My MIL brought the jars with the simple white carnations. The photo frames are filled with vintage maps or illustrations of places DH and I have traveled to - or are special to us. I bought the frames over time from Pat Catan's and TJ Maxx. The prints of the maps came from my printer at home. We borrowed many of the other jars from friends who got married a few months before us, and the pie stands were borrowed as well.



5. We kept it casual.

Our wedding took place at a barn, so the rustic atmosphere definitely justified using disposable plates, silverware, and napkins. The rental place was going to charge us $0.25/fork - and I don't have the stomach for that, even with under 100 guests. haha. We also did BBQ for dinner, which ended up being about $16/plate. The very few bites I had were delicious. haha.

As far as flowers - I think we spent just over $300 at the florist - for my bouquet, 3 bridesmaids bouquets, the boutonnieres (6 all together), and 2 corsages for the moms. My florist was AMAZING, and though the bouquets are filled mostly with what they would consider "filler," they did them so tastefully. When she asked if I was "okay with hydrangeas," I thought of course I am! I requested some freesia be put in - but the rest was up to them. Natural and lovely. All of the flowers at the actual reception were just white carnations purchased in bulk by my MIL.



6. We spent where it was important to us.

Because we saved quite a bit elsewhere, we were able to spend a bit more where it was important. We didn't really do favors (MIL brought mints in little boxes, so that was that) - but we did spend an extra $100 for the venue to have a bonfire. We only spent $70 on desserts (pie is my fave!), but we made sure we had a great DJ (still very economical) so that our guests would enjoy the night. Our rings weren't expensive at all - mine was around $700 and DH's was under $200. But we were able to get a venue that was gorgeous all around, and rent extra time to prep the barn and take photos, so we had a piece of mind.



7. We had everything all in once place. On a Friday.

As a wedding photographer, I can tell you that there's nothing better than having the whole shebang in one beautiful place. We were able to get photos done quickly - and only hired our photographer for 6 hours, to catch the important parts (getting ready, formals, ceremony, highlights of the reception), our DJ covered our ceremony and reception, and cost the same as it would for a traditional reception. That, and our buffet opened right after the ceremony ended at 5pm - so we could forego appetizers during cocktail hour and get the party started quicker! We also swung by our local burger place and picked up 50 hamburgers on the way to the hotel so there was an afterparty meal as well. That is when I actually ended up eating. haha.



Having the wedding on a Friday wasn't what we intended to do originally, but ended up being the only day we could find a venue we liked. But it was fantastic. The ceremony started at 4:30pm, and it was a lovely, relaxed day. Our venue didn't give us a discount for a Friday event, but I know many do.

All in all, we spent under $15k. Still a big chunk of change, but it was exactly what we wanted. And an absolute blast. Our goal with the wedding was to make it personal and throw an amazing party that people really enjoyed. And if I say so myself, we absolutely killed it.



Hope you guys enjoyed the photos

Since my last post, I've sold a couple of items. A portable DVD writer for $30 on Facebook, and a lens for $50 on Amazon. Nothing earth shattering, but it's nice to see things leaving and getting some kind of return on them. I'm also talking with two potential buyers of my extra camera - which would be an extra $500 in pocket. Nothing to shake a stick at! Crossing my fingers.

In less happy news, I got my internet bill for the month - $90! That is far higher than what I'm used to paying, and it's because we went over our data limit. I didn't even know that was a thing until a couple of months ago, and it's never been this high. So I need to talk to DH and see what we need to do to get that lower. Either upgrade or readjust what we're doing. That's just absurd.

Went to Aldi and grabbed groceries today. Spent about $40 - not too bad. We had a couple of meals left over from last week, and we're not going to be doing a ton of cooking this week either. Largely stuck to my list. Didn't get milk because they didn't have the organic 2% this week - after drinking it for so long, I can't handle non-organic milk. It just doesn't taste right to me. Did grab my $3.99 bundle of flowers this week - the last bunch lasted 2 weeks! I couldn't believe it. And these were incredibly fresh and gorgeous. Very much enjoying them already!

Tonight I've got a holiday party. Tomorrow, a meet up for my BNI group (still haven't decided 100% if we're going). But we'll be cooking Wednesday night for sure. Thursday is Star Wars!!! Shout out to another SA member that lent me the first 6 movies so I could watch them all before Thursday

Friday, we'll be having friends over for dinner - and making home made crunch wraps! yummm. The weekend is a bit up in the air, but Sunday I'll heading to my mom's to do holiday baking in the morning. So I may or may not be sticking around for dinner that night. We shall see.

Either way, shouldn't be a *terribly* spendy week. My xmas shopping is pretty much done, so it's back to normal (for the most part). I can't believe how much it all adds up to. It definitely set me back a bit on my goals, and I'm looking forward to finding new ways to make up for that... let's hope.

At any rate, I hope you all have a fantastic week! And yay for all of the great fixes we've seen on the site!!

It's not quite the middle of the month yet, but I'm already feeling a bit discouraged on the budget. It's not terrible, but there were a few unexpected (and stupid) costs I didn't anticipate.

$169/300 in Groceries, so I need to reign it in for the rest of the month for sure.

$0/150 in Restaurants. Woooo! I'll prob spend a little on Sunday, but beyond that we've been doing really great.

$130/100 in Shopping/Misc. This is my catch-all, and it included a $35 late fee on my CC (stupid, and really no good reason that I paid it late) and a $37 parking ticket from a couple of months ago that got lost in a pile... it was $25 originally, so again. Stupid. I did purchase a small purse yesterday - I've been searching for one to replace mine, so that it matches my wardrobe. I found one for $20 at Target. I also purchased a new bra at VS. I have a hard time finding ones that fit me correctly (and unfortunately not because they're too big. haha). But I had a coupon for $10 off and it's really quite a need at this point. Still went with an inexpensive one, so I ended up spending about $30.

$17/80 in Fuel. I'm so thankful that I don't drive a ton for work. Most days I work from home, and when I do drive it's quite a bit of distance, but I've been averaging about $60/month for my tiny Honda.

$79/65 in Car Insurance. I have one of those devices that tracks my driving patterns, and apparently they think my driving hasn't been going as well for the last 6 months because it jumped :/ Upon investigating, the reasoning doesn't make much sense - and DH and I are going to have a friend switch our policy so that the two vehicles and our renters insurance are all together. That should reduce our payments by at least a bit. I was a bit miffed about that for sure.

Christmas shopping is still under budget. And almost complete! Which gets us to our crisis...

DH asked for a new Brown's t-shirt (die hard, and ever-hardened Cleveland fan he is). I decided to design him one custom and ordered it a few weeks back. It was $50 for one screen-printed shirt, which is a lot. But I trust the company (have used them in the past), I chose the more expensive t-shirt with the fabric DH likes, and the print quality is great. When I received the shirt yesterday, I realized I had made a big (rather, tiny) mistake - the stuff printed on the shirt was waaaay too small. I hadn't planned it correctly, and it looked rather ridiculous.

I immediately called them and explained my situation. It is certainly my fault that the dimensions weren't correct. But I also uploaded a proof so they could see what the shirt was intended to look like. If anyone actually checked it for QC, they would have noticed the discrepancy right away (because they see these every single day).

They were so very helpful - not only ran the shirt again for free, but upgraded my account to get better pricing and then on top of it ran another shirt for me using their other (cheaper) printing process so I could see the difference. They expedited the order so it would get to me before xmas, and I was left in awe at having such a great experience with them. I'm sure I'll end up doing additional t-shirts in the future, and I'll definitely be going with Scalable Press.

They saved Christmas

I guess I'm just not used to that level of service and I appreciate it so much when I do encounter it. It definitely inspires me to want to create that kind of environment for my own clients.

So that's that. Busy weekend coming up - shooting an event tonight and a proposal tomorrow evening, which should be a lot of fun Then Sunday will (thankfully) be relaxing and fun, hanging out with my SIL.

Hope you all enjoy your Friday and weekend!!

Things are moving along - yesterday was a bit spendy. $6 for lunch at Panera (I had to meet with my second shooter to pay her and get her files). $200 for her payment (which is honestly too little, but unfortunately I can't afford to pay her more, and she seems to be okay with it).

Talked with DH and got a couple of ideas for the last of his gifts - which I ordered last night. So he is completely done. There wont be a whole lot of surprise, except for the one gift. He asked for a Brown's t-shirt, and rather than purchasing one, I designed a custom shirt for him and had it printed. I'm hoping he loves it. The couple of his friends I got opinions from said they thought it was great.

I freaked out a bit the other day talking to a friend. I usually get him and the other person in our "trifecta" a gift for the holiday - but the last couple of years neither of them have given me anything, so I felt comfortable forgoing it this year. Of course, he made mention that he had a few more things he needed to get together for our gifts so.... apparently we are exchanging. lol. But I figured out a no-cost solution.

We have SO much alcohol left over from the wedding. A bottle of gin each and a fun print (that I can create at home) in a frame (of which we have several from the wedding) and I'm going to call it a day. Also gets some more liquor out of our house. Not that we don't like it, but it'll take us years to get through it all, and I don't want to move it all out of state in April.

All of the rest of the gifts I'm doing are for the most part DIY or something I'm designing, so I need to get that stuff taken care of. It's coming up quick.

But at least we're making progress!

***

In other news, I booked the yearly Republican dinner again (this Friday), so I have another shoot this month. I'm not a republican (I'm independent), but it's always so interesting to meet and hear what their speakers have to say. Last year, it was Ben Carson (at the time I had no idea I would see him all over the news). This year, it'll be Karl Rove. It's always such a funny, "How did I end up here?" moment when I'm walking around. But always so fascinating.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

So DH and I had the "big talk" as far as money goes. It was exhausting and upsetting, but I think ended just as it needed to. I think we both had a much better understanding of how the other feels, and there was a bit of soul searching that needed to happen on both of our parts.

Money is awkward. And tied up in so many emotions. My primary thought is that I want to handle our finances (such a large part of our life) as a team and not compartmentalize and treat things as "his" money and "my" money - an easier position to take given I make drastically less money than he does. So his aversion to paying everything out of our joint account came off to me like he's not in it, or doesn't trust me, or several other hurtful messages (not that I think he intended any of that). What I hadn't really realized is that he felt very unappreciated for the amount of support that he's given me up to this point. There's no doubt whatsoever that my being able to run my business rather than working a more traditional job (and enjoy a rather amazing quality of life) is because he is willing to cover a greater share.

What I didn't realize is that I do a pretty poor job of voicing my appreciation of that fact - so in the end, I'm not really recognizing his contribution to the "team" as well as I should. So no wonder he's entirely comfortable. There's work to be done on both sides. But, of course, that's marriage.

It's going to take a LOT of transition and getting used to. But we did agree to put all of our money into the one account and use that to funnel it out toward expenses. I'm not sure if we'll end up keeping our separate accounts open or not - I suppose I'd like to in case we want to buy gifts or a surprise or something, but I guess we can do that on our credit cards as well.

So that conversation also came with a breakdown of our total expenses and I'm going to end up setting up some sort of a budgeting system. I don't think he really "believes" in budgeting, but after taking a look at what we'll have going out and what our savings goals are, I think he could do with being convinced That exercise is also going to bring to light what I need to make to hit our goals - and will motivate me to do what it takes, even if I have to start a part time job or find some other way to generate income. Particularly now that my business is slowing down. This isn't just me anymore. And I told him that if he feels that I'm not making enough and thinks I should pursue a more traditional job, that's an opinion he's allowed to have and something that we'll decide on together.

He also doesn't really "believe" in savings accounts. He just lets the money sit in his checking account - which is fine, I suppose. He doesn't spend it. But for tracking purposes I tend to like having a way to see the progress a bit more clearly. I guess in that way, I do like a bit of compartmentalization. heh.

So - that's that. I think in the beginning, there's going to need to be a lot of trust built for him to be comfortable. But I know we can do it and get to a point where we are both comfortable and happy with the direction things are moving in.

***

In other news, I've booked two shoots for this week (both proposals), and invoiced a couple of clients that still have outstanding payments. Also went to Trader Joe's and Aldi yesterday to pick up a few things, and made fresh baked bread - which I've been craving for the last week or so. That was really nice

Yesterday I finally sat down and mapped out our meal plan for the week and went shopping. I ended up spending $58 in total. $11 of that was at Walgreens for face wash and dry shampoo, which I use quite regularly but only have to replace every other month or so. I went to Walgreens instead of Target thinking that it would reign in some off the cuff spending. And it did.

The only item I purchased outside of my list was a small bouquet of flowers from Aldi. Every week I look at them, and every week I talk myself out of it. But for $3.99, they have brought a lot of joy already. This morning I even changed the water - something I'm terrible about doing and the reason my DH refuses to buy them for me anymore. haha. I'm hoping my appreciation and care for these might inspire him to change his mind about that in the future

But ANYWAY. Here is the meal list for the week:

- Gruyere Pasta w/ Chicken
- Honey Sesame Chicken w/ Egg Rolls
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken Cutlets w/ Risotto
- Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Emergency Pizza

"Emergency Pizza" in our house means a frozen pizza we throw in the oven when we're craving junk food and don't want to cook. A $3 pizza keeps us from dropping $20, so we keep one on hand for those "emergencies." We try to save it if possible, though!

Made the pasta last night - I had bought some smoked gruyere last week from Aldi to snack on, and we used up most of it in the pasta. Kind of like a pasta/mac & cheese. Turned out great, despite it being one of those completely thrown together meals.

***

Today I've got a deadline to meet, so it's going to be a busy one! Hope you all are enjoying your week!

Though not *exactly* a point of excitement, I can't believe that we're here. Sigh.

I sat down and created my budget today - finally going through what I should expect coming in this month. I really need to go through and get a hold on my accounting. I got Quickbooks for my business back in May, but I haven't backlogged everything yet, so I'm not entirely sure what my tax situation is going to look like. That's a big priority for the month.

I also mapped out what I plan on doing for xmas, and that is looking pretty grim. I need to scale back a bit. We don't have a ton of people to buy for, but it all adds up... That being said, I finally got out of my mom what she wanted, and I picked up a purse for her on Nordstrom Rack yesterday. No crazy Cyber Monday deals, but it was already marked down almost 50% and at least shipping was free for the holiday.

DH and I mentioned the joint account again yesterday and resolved to figure out how we're going to really use it. Hopefully that conversation will come soon. We still have to put me on the account as well. We also acknowledged that our honeymoon will probably not be taken right after xmas, as we still haven't planned any of it. Which is fine by me. We'll figure it out. We're just not really in the mindset to plan a vacation. I'm sure once the weather starts to get chilly that will change quickly

***

As for today, I'll be heading to the grocery store and then having a marathon work session. We have pretty much nothing in the house at the moment... but beyond that there should be no spending!

So that's that. I hope you all enjoy the day!

I spent 12 hours on Wednesday editing photos... so I was able to take a bit of time off around the holiday. And it felt pretty fantastic. Not only that, but my client was SO excited about her photos. Surprisingly, I don't always get a reaction (I deliver files electronically), and it's such a treat when I do.

The holiday itself was pretty good. We do a lot of running around, and while it's nice to see everyone, it's exhausting at the same time. Black Friday we stayed in and put up our tree. I don't bother with shopping. Though we did watch some videos online of stores opening up on Black Friday - honestly, it was probably one of the more depressing things I've seen (which is saying something given the news recently). People trampling each other and fighting over boxes. It's like we've abandoned the concept of decency in favor of stuff. Granted, I know it's not like that everywhere, but still...

I did do a bit of online shopping yesterday - Amazon had the Echo listed for $150 instead of $180, so that was a great deal. The $10 gift card I had essentially took care of the taxes, and it ships free. So DH's big gift is done. Picked up a book for my sister as well.

I also hopped on Bath & Body Work's site to see if they had any deals on Wallflowers - that's what I get for my MIL every year, and sure enough they were marked down to $3.50 from the usual $6 each. I got 3 of those and some random lotions, etc. They were having a buy 2 get one free deal, and I'll be giving away two of them as gifts.

Still waiting to hear what mom wants - she pulled this weird, "Don't worry about me..." thing after she asked at length what we would like. Like we're not going to get her a gift. Sigh. I'm just hoping she lets me know soon. I'd rather not do the last minute thing, and it seems silly to buy her random stuff if there's something she's planning to purchase anyway.

I do have some designing and putting together of presents as well. I don't do a whole lot of hand-made, but definitely a good bit of custom-made. It's where my skillset becomes really helpful! I'd rather do something special than generic most of the time.

DH asked what I wanted last night - and I'm still not 100% sure. Originally I threw out the idea of a Roomba. We have 2 cats and I constantly battle with pet hair. But then I realized that I was asking for a $300 vacuum cleaner and I just felt silly. haha. Our vacuum works great, and it's not that much work. I've been thinking of getting a Fitbit for a while now, so I suggested that. And maybe one of those fancy camera harnesses. I'll need to do some research on that, though. I'm trying to reduce the amount of stuff we have, so that makes it a bit difficult. And equipment for work is a bit too expensive to ask for xmas. That's better for tax write-offs.

At any rate, time to get to work. I've got a lot to get done this week! Hope you all had a lovely holiday!